Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
Australia’s house price boom: what’s happening and how can it be brought under control?
Ben Butler The Guardian (No paywall)Australian house prices are soaring – even more than usual. ... Before the 2019 election, Labor proposed curbing negative gearing – which lets investors use the losses on their properties to reduce their tax bills – and cutting the capital gains tax discount in half. Most economists think these measures would have a negative effect on house prices. But Labor dumped them from its policies. ... Sky-high house prices are bad for young people and other would-be first homebuyers, who get locked out of homeownership and remain at the mercy of landlords. Rent growth was somewhat moderated early in the pandemic by the absence of international students and foreign workers, but it has jumped in recent months. A severe crash in the housing market would also be bad for the broader economy. Property is where both households and Australia’s banks have stashed much of their wealth.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/01/australia…
# Australia, Housing market, Tax.What does your house price have to do with the price of televisions?
Andrew Charlton The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)For most households with a mortgage, even a small lift in interest rates would be painful. It would also lead to a big house price correction. That is why everyone is watching inflation nervously. So, how worried should we be? The answer is a bit complicated, so let’s break it down.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/what-does-your-house…
# Australia, Coronavirus COVID-19, Housing market.Record housing prices see buyers turning to fixer-uppers to secure their dream homes
Zilla Gordon ABC (No paywall)Covered in graffiti, broken windows and knee-high grass, Katie Keam bought this home for less than $200k — and she wouldn't live anywhere else.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-30/house-prices-townsville-q…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Young people.Borrowing power could be curtailed by loan curbs; Home loan growth strongest since early 2018
Clancy Yeates The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)At 11.36am ... Financial regulators yesterday gave their strongest signal yet that they will introduce clamps on the mortgage market, which made front page news in today’s Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. At 1.14pm ... New figures from the Reserve Bank show growth in the $1.9 trillion mortgage market continues to accelerate, as ultra-cheap debt and tight supply put a rocket under house prices.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/asx-set-for-brighter-sta…
# Australia, Home ownership, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘Bad idea’: Experts warn property market intervention will push out young buyers
Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)First home buyers and low-income earners will find it harder to buy into the Sydney and Melbourne property markets if regulators intervene, with experts warning mooted rules limiting lending could worsen the housing affordability crisis. ... Grattan Institute economic policy program director Brendan Coates said this type of regulatory intervention could add to the problems facing buyers. ... AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver has called on the regulators to provide carve outs for first-time buyers to ensure they aren’t affected by the crackdown.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bad-idea-experts-warn-pr…
# NSW, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market, Young people.Lending restrictions could hit property investors
John Collett The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Property investors are likely to find it harder to obtain the big mortgages often required to buy free-standing homes after regulators signalled they would likely act to tighten lending rules. ... “There has been a shift by investors from units to free-standing houses,” says Doron Peleg, founder of RiskWise Property Research. They are attracted to houses because of the potential for capital gains, he says. However, houses usually require larger mortgages than units and, if APRA does impose lending limits, investor buying activity would likely drop, Peleg says.
https://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/lending-restrictions-coul…
# Australia, Housing market, Landlords and agents.‘Unmitigated disaster’: Residents, council slam plans for new suburb
Andrew Taylor The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Scaled-back plans for a new suburb on the northern beaches have been labelled an “unmitigated disaster waiting to happen” by a local councillor, as residents raise concerns about the risk of bushfires in the area.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/unmitigated-disaster-residen…
# NSW, Planning and development, State Government.Newcastle illustrator drawing every house on her Mayfield street during lockdown
Christine Sheridan and Jenny Marchant ABC (No paywall)When the Hunter region in New South Wales was forced into lockdown last month, local illustrator Jess Garnham set herself the challenge of drawing one house on her street each day.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-02/newcastle-illustrator-dra…
# NSW, Coronavirus COVID-19, Home.